while tearing out the rear floor in my trailer found this very rusted piece of steel. it was at one point bolted to the frame. i was able to just pull it out. this floor had been replaced before, although totaly wrong. is this piece factory? Or did someone just stuff it in there? if i need this piece i will make one from stainless. I just dont know why I might need it. it was never attached to the skin in any way.thanks for reading this.

I believe that is a reinforcing bar that was added to later '70s trailers to stop the rear-end separation problem that had been found in the earlier trailers; especially those with rear baths. If it's rusted to the point that it's not adding structure any longer, it could stand to be replaced, but I wouldn't just pitch it.

That basically holds the back of the trailer on ,it should be riveted to the alum. and bolted to the floor .If it is in very bad shape,have someone bend you a new one.
Dave
85MH345 types faster than me.

Little Girl ('71 Sovereign) also had that piece of metal. She had a rear end repair done at some point long ago, so I’m not sure if that was added then or if it was original. It was also really rusty, so I replaced it with a piece of ~1/8” thick aluminum I bent to the correct angle. I also have two rows of rivets holding he shell to this new piece, instead of the original one row. I plan on adding a third row of rivets in the Spring, along with two more rows of rivets in the corresponding front hold down plate.

It is factory and is in place to hold the shell down to the floor/frame in the rear, where the highest levels of stress will be experienced (most critical in longer units like yours).

If it is unsalvageable, as advised above, have another one made. It is very important in holding things together and can be assisted with additional hold down points outside the main frame rails in keeping the rear joint (shell/floor/frame) tightly held together.

I replaced the steel angle with a formed piece of .063 2024-T3. The way that it was installed from Airstream, IMHO, accomplished nothing, other then beefing up the bottom of the "C" channel. My new piece runs behind the vertical ribs and under the plywood. I also ran it higher up on the skin and installed another real row of rivets. originally there was only about 8 rivets into the vertical legs. I also replaced the rear skin with .050 2024-T3

wow thanks all for the quick and informative replies! So I will replace.
When I pulled all this apart the rear c channel was rotten. Found a replacement at out of doors mart, but it has the extra j section on the bottom. Now im wondering how to get it all back together. The new rear floor bow should be here in a week Rod

in process of replacing rear floor on my 82 limited.. angle piece is needed. be aware that leaks originated from poor seal at base of shell and rear bumper plate. caught it when floor out and rain storm. another hint. add cross bracing every 18" to keep floor from sagging between factory bracing.